Los Angeles 2028 aims for a car‑free olympic transformation
7:38 AM EDT, August 13, 2024
Los Angeles 2028 without cars? This is the vision the city's mayor, Karen Bass, held for the Olympic Games. Bass, who took over the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the Paris Games, plans to focus the most populous city in California on public transportation.
Mayor Karen Bass speaks about "car-free Olympics." This would be a tremendous change in one of the most congested cities in the world, writes frontofficesports.com (FOS).
American media are already comparing the plans to eliminate cars in Los Angeles to the cleaning of the Seine, which cost nearly $1.6 billion. "Rzeczpospolita" calculated that this money was used to replace sewer connections, install new purification systems, and construct a collector with a capacity of 20 Olympic swimming pools under the Austerlitz station. Despite this effort, the water quality in the Paris section of the river was poor.
"Training sessions and competitions were postponed because tests showed the water contained too many E. coli and enterococci bacteria. It was extremely dangerous for the athletes," reported Sportowe Fakty.
Los Angeles Olympics without cars
What plan do Los Angeles authorities have to limit the number of cars on the streets significantly? The city plans to utilize over 3,000 buses running during the Olympics. A substantial part of the fleet will be borrowed from other American cities and will park at temporary stops, with significantly more of them.
Additionally, there are plans to modernize the rail network and the airport.
Moreover, employers, especially large companies, are expected to consider switching to remote work. There may also be schedule changes to reduce traffic jams. FOS reminds us that similar solutions were implemented during the LA Olympics in 1984.
According to Bass, "the Olympic Games are an opportunity for transformation." She added that preparations for the games should benefit residents for decades to come.
Americans hope to sell over 9.5 million tickets, the same number of spectators attracted by the games in Paris. "We don't have an Eiffel Tower. We do have the Hollywood sign," summarized Casey Wasserman, the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic organizing committee chairman.
